Pressure Cooker Seal Venting for Controlled Overpressure Release
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking appliances for liquid foods under pressure face safety risks due to potential explosions when existing protective devices fail, as they do not adequately manage excessive pressure, posing hazards to operators and surroundings.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance with a seal designed as a mechanical failure point that deforms elastically and folds outward at a predetermined threshold, triggering a controlled pressure release, complemented by a sequence of pressure reduction and safety valve activations to prevent overloading and explosions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If safety valves are used to release excess pressure, then pressure control is improved, but reliability deteriorates because safety valves can fail and not provide adequate protection against explosions
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is pre-designed with a predetermined failure point at a specific location, prepared in advance to fail at a controlled manner when pressure exceeds a safe threshold. This preliminary arrangement ensures that when overpressure occurs, the seal will fail at the predetermined location rather than at a critical location, thereby preventing appliance explosion even if safety valves fail.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention provides a backup safety mechanism in the form of a predetermined failure point in the seal, which acts as a cushion against catastrophic failure. This failure point is designed to absorb excess pressure by failing in a controlled manner, protecting the appliance and user from explosions if the primary safety valves malfunction.
2Reliability
If the seal is made rigid to maintain sealing, then sealing reliability is improved, but safety deteriorates because rigid seals cannot deform to create failure points for pressure release
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is designed with non-uniform properties: most of the seal maintains high rigidity and elasticity for reliable sealing, while a specific predetermined location has reduced rigidity or enhanced flexibility to serve as a failure point. This local differentiation allows the seal to maintain overall sealing reliability while providing a controlled failure mechanism for safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal incorporates a flexible portion or predetermined failure point that can deform under excessive pressure. This flexible element allows the seal to transition from a rigid sealing structure to a pressure-release mechanism when needed, balancing sealing reliability with safety against overpressure.
3Reliability
If the appliance structure is strengthened to prevent explosion, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional protective mechanisms and structural reinforcements
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is designed to automatically fail at a predetermined location when excessive pressure occurs, without requiring external control systems, sensors, or additional mechanical components. This self-service failure mechanism provides safety while minimizing added complexity, as the seal's inherent material properties and geometry enable the predetermined failure behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The predetermined failure point in the seal is designed as a sacrificial element that may fail under extreme overpressure conditions. This disposable-like approach uses a low-cost, simple seal design with a built-in failure point rather than expensive, complex reinforcement structures, providing safety through a simple, replaceable component.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures safe and controlled release of excessive pressure, preventing appliance explosions even after primary protective devices fail, thereby enhancing safety standards and reducing risk to operators and the environment.
Implementation Method 1
the cover (18) is designed in such a way that it deforms minimally elastically as the pressure in the pressure chamber (26) increases, with the deformation increasing the gap size of the seal (22)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~5
Figure 6
AI summary
The device (10) has a cover (18) that is provided for a crucible (16). A pressure chamber (26) in the crucible has a compressive strength. An intermediate pressure chamber and cover is located partly encircling the gasket (22). The squeezing of the gasket is performed such that over-pressure exist between the pressure chamber and the cover is escaped before a locking device (24) is overloaded, or a boundary region of the compressive strength of the pressure chamber is reached. An independent claim is included for a method for triggering protection devices of cooking appliance for cooking liquid or high liquid content.